Princeton's Ford Named to Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The recognition for
Princeton baseball’s Mike Ford continues to
come in, as the Tiger pitcher/first baseman was named to the
12-player John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award watch list,
it was announced Friday.

The award, named for the Washington State star who achieved
success as both a first baseman and a right-handed pitcher, will be
presented as part of the annual College Baseball Hall of Fame's
Night of Champions on June 29 in Lubbock, Texas.

"It's great to see athletes in smaller conferences be so
successful," said Chris Curbo, Olerud Award
co-chair, "especially because these young men are making dual
contributions to their teams."

Ford had an unprecedented season, becoming the first player to
win both Ivy League Player and Pitcher of the Year honors in the
same season and a career. He is also the only player to win all
three top league honors, earning Rookie of the Year in 2011. The
junior also was a unanimous double First-Team All-Ivy selection at
pitcher and first base.

On the mound, he went 6-0 and boasted a 0.98 ERA, fourth-best in
all of NCAA Division I. In nine starts, he tallied five complete
games, eighth-best in the nation, and a shutout victory. Ford only
allowed seven earned runs, no home runs and held opposing batters
to .191 against, to lead all Ivy pitchers.

At the plate, Ford hit .320 (47-for-147) for second-best on the
team. He ranked in the top-10 in the Ivy League in 10 categories,
including No. 1 in walks (31), No. 2 in home runs (6), No. 3 in RBI
(38) and No. 4 in on-base percentage (.443).

Ford nearly won the triple crown in league play, with Ivy-bests
in homers (5) and RBI (22), but finished second in batting average
(.394) to teammate Alec Keller.